A priestess betrays gods, country, and her own heart — in 163 minutes of volcanic belting.
Gaul has been conquered by the Romans. Oroveso, the Arch-Druid longs to lead a Gallic rebellion against the colonial forces. He and all the others wait for the signal to be given by his daughter, the Druid High Priestess Norma. But Norma has fallen in love with the Roman Proconsul, Pollione, and given birth to two children. They have been brought up in secrecy by her confidante Clotilde. Norma still loves Pollione but he has fallen in love with a novice priestess, Adalgisa.
Acting
June Anderson's Norma: technically flawless, emotionally volcanic
Direction
Battistoni/Andò balance intimate close-ups with operatic scale
Production
Druid temple sets evoke both sacred terror and political powder keg
Director
Carlo Battistoni
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
June Anderson was 45 when she filmed this — Norma is notoriously cruel to aging voices, making her technical mastery almost supernatural.
Bellini's 1831 opera premiered as Italy chafed under Austrian rule; Gallic rebellion coded dangerously contemporary politics for its first audiences.
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